


Notice Me, Undyne-Senpai!

by kozmical, MadameBizarre



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU where I guess the war never happened?, F/F, High School AU, so humans and monsters all live on the surface and go to school together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-04-27 18:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5059387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kozmical/pseuds/kozmical, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameBizarre/pseuds/MadameBizarre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alphys leads a mostly asocial life as president of the Anime Club and top of her class, but her world gets shaken up when a rebellious new girl enters the picture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this was inevitable, wasn't it?  
> \--Kozmical

Though it was still technically winter, the early morning was warm in the sun, which was perfect for Alphys. There was no wind and no clouds, which made basking easier. Nevermind that her eyes were itchy and her nose was running from the early spring pollen, or the slight chill; as long as the sun was out, everything was alright by her.

Class would not start for another fifteen minutes, and Alphys was left to sit on the stairs leading into the building, alongside her peers; the library did not open until break, so she had nowhere to go, in any case. She barely know any of her fellow students, but they all knew her name in the least, what with being top of her class, and, in fact, the entire school. The only few people she knew well, or even talked to every day during school, were Bratty and Catty (who she always felt needed to referred to collectively), and a pair of ghostly cousins named Mettaton and Napstablook.

“Alphys, put the book down and talk to ussss!” Catty playfully pressed her paw to the yellow monster’s shoulder.

“A-Ah, s-sorry… b-but this… this is the newest volume! I’m so excited to see what happens!” Alphys had nothing against the inseparable Catty and Bratty--they were probably the friendliest people she knew--but she tended to feel like a third wheel. She was just happy they genuinely liked her, even if they had little in common.

“Oh Alphys!” The two of them sing-songed in unison, giggling at their synchronized response.

Alphys gave them a small smile -- always finding it endearing that they were so connected. She hoped to one day find a partner like such, maybe even rival the two girls for ‘Cutest Couple’ in the yearbook. For now, though, Alphys was content with her manga, anime, and science, and thus went back to her book… or so she would have liked.

The revving of a small motor was annoying, yet also curious since never before had Alphys heard anything like it so near the school. She peered over the pages of her manga, and her eyes widened as a motor scooter pull into the student parking lot directly around the corner to them. That would have had to been the first time anything cooler than a 1996 Honda ever parked near the high school -- and the rider was just as cool.

Alphys desperately wanted to look away and not make a fool of herself, but her eyes -- like everyone else’s -- were glued with awe as the rider approached with long strides. She was broad shouldered with a leather jacket over her tank top, skinny jeans that complimented her strong legs, and the removal of her helmet revealed a long, red ponytail and red-tinted fins. Alphys’ eyes followed her, watching the new student climb the steps with her line of vision never wavering from in front of her -- like a shark.

The new girl did not even appear to care that everyone was staring at her, and whispering all around. Confidence radiated off her, and it made Alphys… jealous?

The only instance where the woman stopped for even a second was when an elementary student known only as Monster Kid -- who was seated on top of the cement and brick rail of the staircase -- nearly toppled forward trying to gain a better look at her.

The redhead had put her hand on child’s head to gently push them back to a safer sitting position, and ruffled their scales. She winked at them before finally entering the building.

“Did you see that?! She touched my head! She’s so cool! I want a leather jacket just like hers!” Monster Kid excitedly bounced in place.

The bell rang, and the students all crowded the doors to get into class; the little monster hopped of their seat and quickly ran back to their own campus lest they get in trouble for straying away from the elementary school’s playground. Alphys gathered her belongings, took a deep breath -- realizing she had not exhaled since seeing the other girl -- and finally headed to class.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anime is VERY real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Mettaton's name was proooooobably not Mettaton before he became a robot, but I have no idea what it might have been before then, so let's just roll with it, ey??  
> This is the most I've written for one single thing in a really long time! I feel so ALIVE!!
> 
> Thanks for reading~!  
> \--Kozmical

A week after her arrival and the name Undyne was still on every student’s lips, regardless of whether they had lips or not. Something about her had everyone abuzz.

Not that Alphys cared. She had more important things to do than daydream about riding on the back of Undyne’s motorscooter, watching the world rush by with her head pressed against her back. She _definitely_ had _no_ desire to spend all day playing with her long, beautiful hair, either. She was a busy girl, darn it!

On top of being in all International Baccalaureate classes, she was also in charge of organizing the science fair, and was president of the Robotics Club, which met on Wednesdays. Mettaton was the only other member.

But her pride and joy was the Anime Club, of which she was founder and president. It was the highlight of every week, even if the only other members were Mettaton, who was mostly there at Alphys’ insistence, and Napstablook, who only tagged along because their cousin was there. In addition, there had to be at least one faculty member to supervise, and in the case of the Anime Club, it was Sans, who had dropped out a few years earlier and gotten a job at the school as a custodian.

Despite her best efforts--namely, badly Photoshopped 8.5x11” posters--nobody seemed to show up. It was probably for the best, though. Too many members might let word slip if they were watching an anime that was a little more… racy. Or violent.

Normally the days were pretty quiet, so Alphys definitely was not expecting the door to crash open, and she definitely did not mean to shriek when it happened.

Standing in the doorway was none other than Undyne, who covered her mouth in surprise.

"Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare ya. But hey, uh, this is the Anime Club, right?" she asked. Alphys felt beads of sweat form on her face.

“Uh, ye-yeah! Y-you showed up at the ri-right time! We’re just about to start _Revolutionary Girl Utena_ ,” she said, nearly breathless.

“Kickass! That’s the one on your flyer, right? I saw it and thought, ‘I have to see what this is about!’” Undyne smiled a wide, toothy grin.

“I think if the school knew the content we wouldn’t be allowed to watch it here,” Alphys said with a nervous laugh, still barely able to get out a sentence without feeling like she had run up several flights of stairs. “That’s why we have Sans.” She nodded to him, seated in the corner in the back of the room. He lifted his hand in a simple wave.

“Hahaha, nice! Way to stick it to the man!” Alphys blushed at the compliment.

Undyne stuck out her hand. “I don’t think we’ve really met. The name’s Undyne.” Alphys dried her palms as discreetly as she could before meeting that handshake.

“Ah, I d-definitely know who you are, U-Undyne,” she said with a weak laugh. Undyne threw her head back and cackled.

“I guess I do have kind of a reputation!”

“Y-yeah, p-probably the least b-bad reputation I’ve ever heard of anyone having,” Alphys said, digging her claws into her arms just to have something to do with her hands. “I’m Alphys.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Alphys! Who are your friends?” Undyne asked, nodding to the two ghosts.

“Oh, th-that’s Mettaton,” Alphys said, gesturing toward the ghost in question, who blew her a kiss as a greeting, “And that’s his c-cousin, Napstablook.” Napstablook looked up and greeted her with a quiet, “hi…”

Feeling awkward in spite of herself, Alphys exclaimed, “Well then, let’s!! Get started!!” She pulled the DVD box set out of her backpack.

“Hey, c-can you help me with the p-projector? I c-can’t reach,” Alphys pointed to the ceiling where the projector was situated.

“Sure, no problem,” Undyne said and climbed onto a desk despite not really needing to. The screen in front of the blackboard lit up with Alphys’ laptop background: a _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ fanart done by her favorite artist on Pixiv. With a nervous laugh Alphys hurried to her computer and opened her documents, just to have something covering the screen, before popping in the DVD.

Alphys stayed seated at the teacher’s desk while the first episode started up, frozen in place. Undyne looked over at her from her seat atop a desk.

“Can you even see over there? Come sit by me!” Undyne said and slammed her hand on the desk beside her.

“Oh, uh, o-okay,” Alphys said and got up, somehow feeling that the room stretched about a hundred miles. She stumbled into the chair beside Undyne, glad to at least make it there before gravity betrayed her.

From her opposite side, Mettaton raised an eyebrow before his mouth slowly curled into a smirk. Alphys frowned and shook her head at him with the most threatening expression she could muster. He snickered quietly.

Alphys huffed and turned her attention to the screen, trying to keep it there. Normally any sort of commentary would drive her nuts, but coming from Undyne, who became very excited as soon as swords were introduced, she could not help but feel endeared to.

“Oh, shit! There’s swordfighting in this?!” she shouted. Alphys nodded. What did she think it was about?

“I don’t like this guy,” Undyne said the moment Saionji appeared onscreen. And when he proceeded to slap Anthy, she yelled, “NGAAAAH!! Now I really hate this guy!” Alphys could swear she heard her mutter, “I’m gonna fight this prick” every time he appeared.

“She knows this is fiction, right?” Mettaton said loud enough for only Alphys to hear as he leaned into her. She nudged him in the ectoplasm.

“Oh, b-be quiet, you,” she whispered back.

By the end of the episode Undyne was hyped up on adrenaline. She jumped off the desk and slapped her hands on Alphys’, with her face mere inches away.

“Dude!! Are we gonna watch episode two?!” she asked, and the loudness of her voice rattled Alphys’ head.

“Uhm, I n-normally would b-but, I-I actually have a lot I n-ned to d-do t-t-today, s-sorry,” she said. In her peripheral vision she could see Mettaton roll his eyes at Napstablook.

“Ah, bummer! Well, I guess I’ll see you next week?” Undyne said with her usual big grin.

“Ye-yeah! We m-meet on Mondays and Fridays,” Alphys said as she stood and pushed in her chair, ever the good pupil. Undyne pulled her into a tight hug before grabbing her bag and bolting for the door.

“See ya!” she yelled and the door banged against the wall behind her.

“Your face is so red,” Mettaton said, floating up beside Alphys, who buried her face in her hands.

“Sh-shut UP!!” she yelled. Mettaton laughed.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton makes a DECENT wing-man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We already know where all the other characters fit into this story, so do not worry that we may not include them -- EVERYONE WILL BE IN OUR SUTEKI AU!
> 
> ~ MadameBizarre <3

“I want to see it again!” 

Alphys exhaled heavily as her hands came to a stop. Looking down to her hands with graphite smudged on them, she could focused on the sketches laying on the table.

“It’s only been five minutes, Metta. I’ve barely put down anything new.”

“Oh, but Aaalllphiiieee! Pretty please, with me on top?” The ghost winked, and she could have sworn a star popped out.

Unable to deny his cuteness, and not wanting to put up with his incessant nagging, Alphys stepped aside to let him see her work. It was a simple box, a sort of ‘shell’ to keep his true body-to-be safe. Box or not, Mettaton loved it.

“Ohhh I can not wait to be in the spotlight with this! And then, in the middle of my performance,” he looked away, his tiny form becoming dramatic enough to make Alphys roll her eyes, “I shed my old skin, AND APPEAR AS THE EVEN MORE GORGEOUS METTATON… Mettaton... EX!” If he had legs, one would be pointed into the air.

“It’s more appropriate to say ‘shed my body’ than skin.”

“It’s a figure of speech, darling, do not interrupt my moment.” He broke character, then threw his ectoplasmic body onto the table.

“Watch the paper!”

“Oh yes! I would love to have my picture taken for  Vogue ! Free  Gucci  for me to endorse? Certainly madame!” 

Ignoring her friend’s daydreaming, Alphys looked to the wall clock. Lunch was going to end soon, it was a good enough time to leave and make her way to her next class.

The yellow monster began to roll up her sketches, but not before Mettaton sprawled on his side and gave her a look that read:  ‘I’m onto you.’

“Wh-what’s with that look?” The blood rushed to her face.

“Oh hun, you know exactly what is up with this look. You’re distracted--you’ve been daydreaming about a certain new girl...” 

She wanted to believe that it had only been Mettaton to notice, as he noticed  everything  that happened in school, but Alphys had a bad feeling that everyone saw it. The way she paid more attention to Undyne than what they were watching in the Anime Club, how just the mention of her name was enough to make her sweat. She was an infatuated mess.

“B-be q-q-quiet!” Her small hands lifted to cover Mettaton’s own, but he merely made his form transparent and phased through her. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine, then turned around to face him.

“I t-told you n-n-never to d-do tha-at!” 

“Do you want help catching her eye?” He continued to talk as she put her stuff away.

“No! I’m not trying to… I don’t wanna… just no! I’m content with things right now. I don’t want to screw everything up,” Alphys slung her backpack over one shoulder. 

The two walked exited the classroom -- Mettaton not letting the subject go. That was Metta, though, always a bit nosey, filled with good intentions, with no sense of personal space.

“I think you two would be so cute! Oh, I can give you a makeover! It’ll be splendid, I know exactly what your color is for eye shadow!”

It was yellow, obviously.

“No, no, no, listen to me, no matter how pretty I look -- if that is even plausible -- Undyne would not care. Appearances… don’t matter to her… and anyways, I’m not her type.” 

“What’s her type, if she doesn’t care for appearances?” Mettaton floated on his stomach as they descended down the hall.

“I… I’m just…” The right words would not come out, and Alphys lifted a hand as if to reach out for them. “And she’s just… so… so…” her wrist began to twirl, her tongue becoming tied. “Tall, and--and beautiful… and she’s so… s- strong . She could p-probably caber toss me all the way to the elementary school… and she’s so skilled, like -- OOF!” 

Looking up from her spot on the floor, Alphys felt her skin turn clammy, and her heart pound. Speak of the devil, and they shall appear.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry Alphys! Are you alright?” Undyne leaned down and extended a hand toward her. If this were a manga, Alphys thought, this would be the panel where they are surrounded by inexplicable roses, or cherry blossoms. She nodded meekly.

Alphys clasped her trembling hand in Undyne’s, who pulled her to her feet with ease. Their hands lingered together for a moment before Undyne pulled away and folded her arms.

“Where’d your friend go?” she asked. Alphys looked around her; Mettaton was nowhere to be found.

“I guess he bailed,” she said, “ The jerk ,” she added under her breath. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re so shaky,” Undyne said and her hands hovered under Alphys’ trembling ones. Alphys nodded again, facing the floor, and peered back up to see Undyne smile. “I wouldn’t blame you, if you aren’t--I  am pretty scary.”

“N-no you’re--you aren’t s-scary,” she insisted. 

“You’re so cute, Alphys,” Undyne said with a laugh. For a moment, there was only Alphys, walking in space, with those words ringing like choir music in her ears. 

The bell signifying the end of the last lunch period brought the yellow monster out of her shock, and Undyne grabbed Alphys’ arm before she could say goodbye and quickly turn away. 

“Oh! Alphys, are you doing anything after school today?” she asked. 

“U-uh, well, M-Mettaton and I usually m-meet up for Robotics t-today, but we did a bunch at l-lunch, so…” 

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that I started a fencing club! We’re setting up this afternoon,” Undyne said.

“I-I don’t think I have that k-kind of athleticism,” Alphys said, a little downtrodden.

“Well, I mean, you don’t have to join, but, you know,” Undyne started playing with the ends of her ponytail, “You can come and watch, if you want.”

Alphys felt her spirits lift. “I’d love to! I-I’ll talk to Mettaton,”

“Awesome! I’ll see you later!” Undyne pulled Alphys into a one-armed hug before strolling away.

“Alphys, oh my GOD!” Mettaton’s voice boomed behind her, causing her to jump a good foot into the air. She spun around to face him.

“Where did you  go ?!” she shrieked.

“Oh, I didn’t go anywhere, darling! I saw the whole thing!” Mettaton said. Alphys held out her claws as if to strangle him.

“Uuuuurgh, I’ll freak out later! I don’t want to be late for class!”

Quickly she trotted off to her next class, aware of the two non-existing eyes watching her back, and the squeals for Napstablook to quickly listen at the newest gossip that would never be heard by anyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you were waiting for Papyrus to appear, then this is your chapter my friend B)  
> \--Kozmical

The gym was crowded, and Alphys was more surprised than she thought she ought to be. Of course so many people would show up; everyone wanted to be on Undyne’s team, even if they were actually competitors. Undyne herself was nowhere to be seen.

Part of the bleachers were pulled open, and there was a thankfully empty space in the front row. Alphys sat down and pulled out her blueprints for Mettaton’s robot body; she may as well get some work done before they got started.

“Hey, Alphys!” called a blank-faced mask which, when removed, was revealed to be Undyne. Her signature ponytail was hidden beneath the uniform jacket. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“I w-wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Alphys said without thinking.

“Aw, you’re too sweet!” Undyne waved a hand at her. “Was Mettaton upset that you couldn’t make it?”

“N-no… he, uhh, promised he’d listen to his cousin’s mixtape, so he had to go home early.” She was _not_ about to tell Undyne that Mettaton himself had practically pushed Alphys all the way to the fencing club meeting -- encouraging and giving her advice the whole time.

“S-so, uh, w-what got you into fencing?” Alphys asked, fiddling with her glasses.

“Oh, yeah, at one of my old schools I took a class on theatrical swordsmanship. I wanted to learn about sword fighting for real, but they wouldn’t let me! So instead I took up fencing!” Undyne said.

“W-wow, that’s so c-cool!” Alphys exclaimed. The theater bit caught her off-guard--had Undyne been a theater kid, or did she take it solely because it involved swordfighting? Her money was on the latter.

“But as much as I love fencing, I’d like it a lot more if we were using actual swords,” Undyne said, sounding disappointed. Alphys suppressed a giggle.

It suddenly came to mind that Alphys herself had a sword. Not exactly a real one, but if it needed to be tagged at cons as a prop, then it was real enough. She did not say anything, though, and merely giggled nervously; the blade of the sword was pink, the hilt covered in glitter, and little star symbols decorated the whole item. Her _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ replica blade was going stay under her bed forever--unless she actually got brave enough for cosplay.

“Undyne!” boomed the voice of-- _oh, no_ \--Mr. Asgore Dreemurr, the (very handsome) high school principal. Beside him stood Gerson, whose job at the school Alphys was uncertain of, though he seemed to have always been present. Asgore beckoned her over and Undyne shifted on her feet.

“Well, I’ve gotta run; guess we’re getting started now. Talk to you later!” she said and gave Alphys a hug before she ran over to Asgore at the center of the gym.

“Alright, chumps, we’ve got limited space, so you’re all going to have to try out… by fighting against me!” Undyne announced, her voice naturally loud and commanding enough to quiet the whole gym.

It seemed she was the only one with any actual experience in fencing, aside from Asgore and Gerson, who occasionally stopped them to correct someone’s posture, or some other objection Alphys did not have the knowledge to recognize.

Undyne was hypnotic to watch, and fenced with verve and style. The way she brought her fencing sword down with confidence, turned her wrist a mere twitch to block, then, with the elegance of a ballerina, moved her feet. She looked like a heroine straight out of an anime.

It seemed to Alphys that Asgore and Gerson were trying to teach the other students to fence, while Undyne was more interested in simply fighting them.

“yo.” A voice pulled Alphys back into reality, and she yelped in surprise at the sight of Sans beside her.

“Sans! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be, like, janitor-ing, or something?” Alphys asked.

“i’m on break,” Sans said with a wink. “and i wanted to support my brother.” He pointed to Papyrus, who had on most of the uniform save for the mask, delightedly swinging around a saber while waiting to fence with Undyne.

“O-oh, yeah… he looks eager.” It was no secret that Papyrus was the biggest Undyne Fan in school (Monster Kid came a close second), and followed her every move. So of course he would be trying out for fencing club.

“he’s not just here to be near her, ya know.” The round skeleton reclined back and supported himself with his elbows.

Alphys watched as Undyne approached the slim skeleton. “Has he fenced before?”

“if you call reenacting the battles from any major movie with swords 'fencing,' then yes.”

Suddenly the mood in the gym changed, and the clashing of sabers rang through. Alphys felt her jaw drop as Papyrus kept up with every attack Undyne brought down upon him. She could not see the expression on Undyne’s face beneath the mask, but she imagined she must be shocked and amused, having finally met an opponent who could keep up with her.

It came down to Asgore having to split the two up before things got carried away. He said something to them both, and Undyne’s loud laughter was relief for Alphys. The red-headed monster smacked Papyrus on his back happily -- causing the skeleton to fall on the floor -- and then she turned to Asgore. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he picked her up in a fatherly hug. Alphys felt a flush of envy, and then felt silly--what did she have to envy, anyhow?

The yellow monster realized she was staring at her lap, and lifted her gaze just in time to see Undyne and Papryus approach her and Sans.

“nice work out there, bro.” Sans stretched out on fist for his brother to bump.

“All thanks to you, Sans! If you didn't practice with me, I’d have no skill!” Papyrus, like Undyne, had no indoor voice.

“Woah, you fight too janitor-man?!” Undyne grinned.

“the name’s sans, and i don’t fight, i just spar...and with my bro only.”

“Awww man! WELL I AT LEAST GOT TO SEE HOW WELL YOU COULD FIGHT THROUGH PAPYRUS!” She wrapped one arm around Papyrus’ neck with ease, then pulled him down to noogie his skull as he laughed happily, albeit looking a bit uncomfortable.

Alphys smiled gently, contemplating whether or not she should leave now and let Undyne hang out with the two skeletons. Perhaps the fish monster had sensed it, or maybe Alphys just looked pitiful, because a gloved hand rested on Alphys’ knee, and Undyne was suddenly sitting beside her.

“Did you like it? Watching me fence, that is!”

“Y-yeah! I loved it!” Love is too strong a word! “You were so cool out there…You’re amazing.” Her cheeks flushed.

Undyne’s grin couldn’t have been wider. “YEAH?! Awesome! I’m glad you liked it! Do you wanna come again next meeting? You can be like….my cheerleader!”

“W-wh-what?!”

“Yeah! You’re gonna need to find a cheerleader outfit too! Fuhuhuhuhu!”

“N-n-no way!” Alphys covered her face with both hands, turning away from Undyne.

“I’m only kidding, Alphy!” Undyne said, and rested her chin on Alphys’ shoulder. “Just having you here is enough for me.” Alphys was glad she already had her face hidden in her hands. Her blush could probably light the room.

“I-I should probably head off then.” She packed up her bag with shaky hands.

“Oh, okay then! Have a safe trip home! If anyone tries to mess with you, just scream for me and I’ll be there!”

“R-R-RIGHT!” It was a pleasant feeling to know she could call on Undyne for help.

Alphys went home that afternoon feeling energized, which was useful, as she knew Mettaton was going to call and demand to know every last detail.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> adventures in babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG!! We got kind of... uh... Well.  
> Anyway for this fanfic both Asriel and Chara are alive, because this is Happytale where everybody lives and nobody is evil. And while we are both soriel trash, it occurred to us that because their children are all alive, there's no reason for Asgore and Toriel to be divorced... So if they were before (I have to check I don't remember WHOOPS) consider it RETCONNED.  
> Thanks for reading~! --Kozmical

In general Alphys was not comfortable in malls; too many people crammed into the same space, talking all at once. But with her arm linked in Undyne’s (a bit awkwardly, considering their significant difference in heights), she could say she felt a little more secure.

Ahead of them, Papyrus held the hands of two children: Frisk and Asriel, the Dreemurr children. The pair were nigh on inseparable, and one might think they had spent their whole lives together. However, Frisk was a recent addition to the family. Nobody seemed to know where they came from, but the Dreemurr family was respected enough for people to refrain from prying.

“I think I m-missed what it was we were d-doing here?” Alphys said, looking up more at Undyne’s fin than her face.

“Toriel trusted the kids with us, so we’re just hanging out, I guess,” Undyne said with a smile.

Technically Toriel had entrusted Undyne with the children since both she and Asgore knew her well. Alphys could never see herself handling even a single child on her own, and she never had to, so she had no idea how well she could do. What little experience she had with children did not leave the best impression on her.

She did not voice her opinion -- not now, knowing that Undyne adored kids, and was excellent with caring for them. To further prove this point, Asriel called out to her, with Frisk waving wildly.

“Aunt Undyne, can we get some ice cream?”

The fish monster grinned and finger-gunned a few food court workers with trays in their hands. “Nope! Your mother doesn’t want me spoiling your appetites -- so let’s settle for some of those free samples instead!”

Both of them cheered, tugging their skeleton leash hard enough to knock him forward.

“Wow, they love you.” Alphys took a seat at a table with cemented seats for five. Her companion took a seat beside her, moving their bags to the floor so nothing was between them.

“Yeah, I’ve babysat them a few times already. I freaking love them to bits and pieces, little rascals!” A shy expression turned Undyne’s cheeks a soft purple. “Asgore dumped the responsibility of picking them up from the elementary school on me once. Well… not dumped, but he was super busy, and it would have gotten in the way of my training. So I pick them up, all mad and stuff, ready to fling them back home, but then… Man, those little smiles, I just melted like a big cone of ice-cream.”

Alphys had never seen her friend’s features turn so soft -- almost motherly. It made her stomach hollow with butterflies.

“I ended up spending the whole day with them at their house, made the family dinner, it was a good day. I wish Chara was here too, though.”

“Are they another one of the kids?”

“Yeah, they’re a little butt-head, remind me a lot of myself as a little punk kid. You… you may need me with you when you meet them.”

“Oh… o-okay, a-as long as yo-you're there…” The yellow monster began to twiddle her thumbs. She could feel the warmth of Undyne’s arm as it rested behind her shoulders.

“Undyne, I was wondering…” She started.

“Yeah?”

“How d-do you know M-Mr. and Mrs. Dreemurr so well? You’re on a f-first name b-basis with them, even!” Alphys looked up and found Undyne had turned to face the large wall-sized window overlooking the parking lot, looking deep in thought. She wondered if maybe she offended her, maybe that was too personal, oh God she screwed up so bad she needed to apologize--but then Undyne spoke up.

“They gave me a second chance.” Undyne’s eyes were intense, but she was smiling, and she gave Alphys’ shoulder a squeeze.

“UNDYNE HELP ME! I CAN’T CONTROL THE KIDS!”

“PAPYRUS YOU BONE-HEAD, YOU DON’T HOLD A KID UPSIDE-DOWN! WHERE THE HECK IS FRISK?!”

* * *

Alphys was the last still in the car after Undyne dropped off the Dreemurrs and Papyrus. The whole time she sat in the front with her, trying to come up with something to say once the chattiest carpooler was gone, but now that he was, she found her voice refused to work. Undyne seemed content to drive in silence, save for the radio.

They pulled up in front of Alphys’ house and sat still for a moment before Alphys moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

“W-well, I g-guess I’ll see you later,” she mumbled and started to open the door when Undyne put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, how about next time we come to the mall, we go see a movie? Just you and me?”

Alphys looked at Undyne, and then at her lap, before she agreed with a nod and a feeble sound. In her peripheral vision she could see Undyne’s mile-wide grin.

“GREAT! See you!” she said as Alphys scuttled out the door and up the driveway. Undyne stayed parked until she was inside. From the small window beside the door, Alphys watched as she drove away.

There was only vanilla ice cream in the freezer, since the weekend before Alphys had used it to make a root beer float (although she actually preferred floats made with cream soda), but that would do. She wrapped up in a thick blanket and sat down on the floor of her closet with her laptop opened to her playlist of her favorite AMVs.

She ought to know better than to get used to this. Friends never stuck around for long.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first paragraph was a joke and then it escalated into this I don't know how this happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry we're being so sluggish. Snail-ish? Part of that was because I, uh, started writing for a completely different chapter. Like two chapters ahead! Aheh. Ahaha.  
> Enjoy the lighthearted nature of this chapter because some INTENSE stuff coming!!  
> Thanks for reading and thank you for your lovely comments! Sorry that I never reply to them. I'm just very shy (but very flattered).  
> \--Kozmical

Somehow the conversation at the lunch table came to the subject of boobs.

“I think out of everyone here, Catty and Alphys are tied for biggest boobs,” Bratty said, tapping her polished claws against the table. Mettaton hummed in agreement, a smile and shine of his ghostly eyes telling Alphys he had agreed on the comment long before it was ever verbally spoken.

“I-I don’t have boobs!” The yellow monster exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. “I j-just have fat d-deposits on my chest that happen t-to resemble boobs!”

“I mean, like, that’s basically what boobs are, Alphys,” Catty said with a small shrug. She gripped her own breasts and jiggled them.

“Did somebody say boobs?!” Undyne said, landing in the center of the table, clearly having jumped from somewhere but with no apparent launching point.

“Alphys is denying that she has a slammin’ bod!” Mettaton said. Undyne leaped into the air and landed in the seat beside Alphys.

“AAAAAAAAH! Alphys! You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met!” Undyne shouted, grabbing Alphys by the shoulders.

“OhmyGodIdon’twanttotalkaboutthis!” Alphys’s breath was gone, and her she covered her face with both hands.

“You’re great and your tits are amazing! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!” Undyne continued to shout. “You're certainly better off than I am. I have nothing comparable to titties. I don't even have nips.”

“Oh, my God, Undyne, you can’t say ‘tits!’” Bratty pressed a clawed hand to her chest in shock.

“I can because it’s my name! I’m Tits Palmer!” she said and pounded the table. More than a few heads turned in their direction.

“U-Undyne! W-we’re gonna get in trouble!” Alphys stammered.

“You guys would have gotten in trouble anyway because you were already all talking about boobs,” Undyne said, crossing her arms matter-of-factly.

“You know,” Bratty lifted a hand to cover her grin. “Calling yourself ‘Tits Palmer’ would have to be the gayest thing you’ve ever said.” She and Catty leaned into each other, giggling.

Alphys peeked up at Undyne from between her claws. The red-headed monster leaned her elbow on the table, and her chin in the same hand.

“Trust me,” she grinned. “It’s not even close.” Undyne spied Alphys peering at her and winked. Alphys was glad she already had her face hidden.

“You know, I think the gayest thing you’ve ever said to me Catty was--”

Alphys wished she had not heard that, because in the next moment her face met the table and wrapped her arms around her head, while Undyne guffawed and banged her fist on the table. There was no way the entire cafeteria wasn’t looking at them right now.

“HAHAHAHAHA!! Hell yeah!” she raised both hands for Bratty and Catty to high-five.

“Excuse me!” said a very irritated-looking rabbit faculty member. “This conversation is too loud and very inappropriate!”

“There is nothing inappropriate about my chest!” Undyne shouted, and pounded a fist to her breastbone for emphasis.

“On school grounds there is,” the bunny lady said.

Alphys’s hands automatically curled around Undyne’s arm, trying to keep the woman sitting, but it barely helped. Undyne pulled up her shirt, just below her ribs, and grinned up to the bunny lady -- challenging her authority.

“Wanna see?”

The ensuing madness was Papyrus holding back Undyne as she tried to tear off her shirt, Alphys hanging on to her for dear life, Bratty and Catty laughing, Mettaton treating the situation like it was staged, and the bunny lady shouting; the last thing she remembered was being ushered down the halls.

Alphys fidgeted in the chair outside Mr. Dreemurr’s office. Catty, Bratty, and Mettaton had all received, presumably, a stern talking to and appropriate punishment before being dismissed back to class. Undyne was in there now. She was going to have to face him alone. What a terrible day to be Alphys.

The door opened, and Undyne exited, escorted by a counselor and security guard.

“I’m going to kiddie jail,” she said with a grin. “See ya never!”

“She means AIA,” said the counselor. AIA was something Alphys had never been to, she didn’t even know what it stood for, but it was where students were sent for the rest of the school day if they misbehaved, but not badly enough to be suspended. She really, _really_ did not want to get sent to AIA. She did not need that dark blotch on her permanent record.

“Come on in, Alphys,” Mr. Dreemurr called from the doorway. Trying to suppress her tremors, she stood and stiffly walked in. “Please, have a seat.”

She heard the door close behind her, and as soon as she sat down the dam broke and all her tears came pouring forth. Alphys was vaguely aware of Mr. Dreemurr rummaging about his desk, and then she felt his large hand pat her back.

“Seems I have run out of tissues. Here,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Alphys took off her glasses and dried her face with it, although she continued to cry.

“Undyne told me what happened, and has taken the blame.” His voice echoed within the office, and reverberated in Alphys’s chest.

“Honestly, I know you kids meant no harm, but we do have rules here, and as an adult, I must ‘ruin the fun’.” He made quotation marks with both hands.

Alphys giggled, aware that Mr. Dreemurr was quoting Undyne. Her tears had become gentle sobs that made her little body shudder, and looking at the principal’s kind smile soothed her. He leaned back against the desk, both hands folded at his waist, looking like a model in his ironed dress shirt and slacks.

Alphys felt her face flush.

“You’ll be attending detention alongside your friends. It’s going to be clean up weekend when you go, so be prepared to scrape the bottom of tables! See you then.” He handed her a hall pass. Alphys remembered the handkerchief still clutched tightly in her claw and held it out to him, but he waved it off.

“Oh, I have plenty of those--keep it!” he said. Alphys blushed and nodded, hurrying out the door. It was not as bad as she thought it would be, but Alphys was still upset. It was unlikely the teachers would treat her like a delinquent because of this incident, but that did not mean she would let herself slide. No 3DS for a week. No anime. No fun allowed.

In the hallway, she unfurled the now wrinkled handkerchief and spread it with both hands. It was pale yellow, with little flowers embroidered in each corner. She buried her face in it. _I’m such a creep_ , she thought.


	7. Undyne Loses Her Eye in This One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter says, we say goodbye to a good eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a WARNING, towards the end of this chapter there is vague writing of eye trauma, so you can skip past the crowd part, and still be okay for future chapters.
> 
> Well, with finals over with, I can help write more of the linking scenes between the big ones that Koz is already ahead with writing. But don't get your hopes for quick updates, especially since we also have other fics we are working on together and separately.
> 
> Things get GAYER next chapter, and yes, that is possible!
> 
> ~ Madame Bizarre <3

That Saturday morning Alphys grudgingly rolled out of bed with fear twisting in her gut. The day was one of shame, so she dressed accordingly in nothing but a plain sweater, and kept her gaze to the floor as she made her onto school grounds. The halls were empty, and what little noise there was came from the administration offices and the gym where few clubs were practicing.

When the Alphys opened the lunchroom doors, she was greeted with laughter. All her friends were there, scraping tools in hands, tables flipped on their sides, and smiles on their faces.

“ALPHYS!” Undyne strode over to the yellow monster and took both her hands. “Finally you're here!”

Alphys felt her body flush, and sweat begin to form on her brow and hands. “Uhh, yeah...I didn’t want to come, I’ve never been in trouble….”

“Are you kidding me?! This is, like, not even the worse kind of trouble I’VE been in!” The redhead pulled her toward the rest of the group.

“UNDYNE WAS JUST TELLING ABOUT THE TIME SHE PRANKED HER OLD PRINCIPAL.”  Papyrus sat on his knees by a table with a few more gum wads stuck under it.

“Yeah, I put her car on the roof,” Undyne got on her knees and motioned Alphys to do the same.

“W-Wait, how did you do that?”

The fish monster winked at her: “That’s one of my secrets! BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE PRINCIPAL’S FACE! She totally knew it was me, and that was how I got kicked out of my first middle school.” How many middle schools did Undyne get kicked out of?

“So, uh, what are supposed to do here? Just scrape the tables clean?”

“UGH,” Mettaton’s voice piped up from the table’s otherside. Alphys stood up on her knees and looked over to him, his ectoplasmic form shivering as it was dramatically strewn across the floor with a scraper next to him.

“We have to also set them back up and WASH them all off.” He groaned.

Alphys rolled her eyes when Catty and Bratty spoke up.

“He scraped like three wads off and then collapsed.”

“Yeah, like, he’s so dramatic.”

“Ignore him,” Alphys gave a small chuckle, earning an expected groan from her ghostly friend. Mettaton was allergic to work and she knew it.

Undyne handed her a scraper, and the group went to work, or what  should  have been work. It was a mistake to put the likes of Undyne, Papyrus, Catty & Bratty, and Alphys together, because what should have been tedious labor ended up being a private party. Not a minute went by without Papyrus cracking a pun, or Undyne teasing everyone playful, and Catty & Bratty passing around gossip, which had Mettaton floating around once again (though not working).

When Sans popped by to drop off lunch (pizza and soda paid by the school), Alphys began to wonder if principal Dreemurr had actually planned this all. 

“Hey, Alphys,” Undyne sat on the table where they were eating -- all the other tables having been turned over too, ready for a quick wash down.

“Yeah?”

“How do you know Mettaton? You guys seem like you’ve known each other for years.”

Alphys felt herself blush, never thinking that Undyne would be interested in details of her life. Then again, the yellow monster had asked about Undyne’s life before, so perhaps this was sort of like payback? Honestly, Alphys was sure no one was  ever  interested in her.

“O-Oh, well… he and his cousins live across the street from me, and we’ve attended all the same schools -- everyone here has, really. I forget you’re not from the area, but we’re a close-knit community.” Alphys wiped her mouth with her hanky but Undyne pointed it out before she could continue.

“Hey, is that one of Asgore’s?” she asked.

“U-uh, y-yeah, he let me have it since he was out of t-tissues…” she said and stuffed it into her pocket.

“I should mention that to Toriel,” Undyne said. “He’s probably been out for weeks and keeps forgetting to mention it!” She threw back her head and laughed. Alphys attempted a laugh but it sounded more like a wheeze.

“So, you were saying?” she said.

“Well, one time he saw me drawing fan art for my favorite series, you know the one,” She turned away with a red face. “And he just seemed really interested so I showed him some other stuff, and he asked if I could draw him. And, uh, nobody’s ever asked me to draw them before, so I was f-flattered, b-but he wasn’t happy with it because I just drew him looking like he does now. He wanted to look more like the characters in anime, with arms and legs and stuff… And I mentioned that I’m good at building things and offered to make him a body.”

“Woah, for real? That must be tough.”

“Y-Yeah, but it’s a lot of fun too. I’m going to win the upcoming science fair with it, then Metta will have the body of his dreams… He’s never really liked being incorporeal… We’ve really bonded since I started the project.” Alphys looked over to the ghost who gently swayed as he spoke to Papyrus (about what, she had no clue).

“And while he is really egotistical and melodramatic, once you get to know him he’s actually really sweet, and fiercely loyal,” she pulled the hanky back out of her pocket and fiddled with it in her hands. “I just hope that…”

Undyne put a hand on her shoulder, but Alphys did not look up to her. “You hope…”

“...Nothing, I’m just overthinking things.” 

Within the hour the punishment finished, and they all parted ways.

 

* * *

As Alphys waved goodbye to Mettaton, watching him phase through the way door, she went back to fitting the rolled up schematics they were working into her backpack. The ghost’s first body would be done in two weeks, right on time for the science fair, just as they planned. Alphys would get her first-prize ribbon as usual (since sixth grade), and Mettaton would finally have his body -- able to claim it’s brilliance once it was certified by the judges. The whole matter was supposed to be under wraps, but they were excited enough to risk taking a test run down several hallways, Mettaton rolling and spinning in delight on his wheel and Alphys struggling to keep up. 

With that out of the way (for now),  Alphys’s was ready to go see Undyne at Fencing club. She was still riding the high of the Saturday detention, no longer having to live vicariously through movies like  The Breakfast Club . 

She came to an abrupt stop when the air was split by an ear-shattering scream. One of the gym doors burst open, and a child who somewhat resembled Frisk darted past and out the back exit. It happened so fast that Alphys had no time to realize her heart was pounding. 

The doors banged open again, and Mr. Dreemurr stumbled out. 

“Alphys!” he called. “Did you see where Chara went?” She had to assume that was the child who ran by, so she pointed behind her to the doors they had run through. He hurried past with a surprising speed for someone of his stature. 

Her pace quickened as she walked to the gym, a heavy feeling on her soul as she dreaded the thought of who may have been hurt. 

“OH MY GOD!” Papyrus’s shriek echoed through the gymnasium doors as Alphys entered the building.

There was a crowd of people at the opposite door, and she jogged over there, listening in horror as Undyne’s name were on their tongues. The collection of whispered voices told her enough of what had happened, but it was Sans who put the whole story together for her -- the skeleton somehow at her side behind the crowd.

“it was an honest accident; they were just playing around with the sabers, you know? nobody was really paying attention… but… chara took out her eye.”

Alphys pushed through the crowd (feeling an extra, bony, shove), and nearly tripped once she was in the front. There was Undyne, sitting up on a gurney--she hadn’t even noticed the ambulance sirens--one hand over her eye, blood? ash? leaking past her palm. When Undyne noticed her presence she grinned towards the smaller monster and gave her a thumbs up.

“I’ll see ya later, Alphys!”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crapoli! An update that didn't take weeks and weeks and weeks?! Probably because we've had most of this chapter written out for, uh, a while. Same with the next one. OOPSIE.  
> We wanted to also say thanks for 180+ kudos and 2000+ hits!! All your comments and kudos and everything really mean the world to us.  
> Thanks for reading!!  
> \--Kozmical

After several days of fretting and composing letters to Undyne that ended up shoved in a drawer in her desk at home, Alphys was called over by Mr. Dreemurr in the lobby during the bustle before the first bell.

“Howdy, Alphys!” he bellowed. 

“O-oh, g-good morning, Mr. Dreemurr!” she said, sinking into her shoulders.

“I wanted to let you know that Undyne has been asking after you,” he said.

“Sh-she is?!” 

“Yes! She has been feeling more up to visitors lately, and specifically asked for you.” Alphys’ heart started to race. “Would you care to come with me when I go to visit her this afternoon?”

“Yes! I-I’d love to! I’ve been r-really, uh, worried about her,” Alphys said. Mr. Dreemurr smiled.

“She has been concerned about you, as well,” he said with a gentle laugh. Alphys blushed and shifted on her feet.

“I--I… I don’t know what to say to that,” she said.

“Undyne cares about others much more than she is willing to let on. She worries about me, too,” he said and Alphys smiled at the thought. The warning bell rang and everyone headed to class. “I suppose I will see you this afternoon, then. Have a good day, Alphys.”

“Y-y-you too, Sir,” she stammered and hurried away.

\---

After a day spent split between anxiety and anticipation, Alphys met up with the principal in the main office. The hospital was only two blocks from the school, so Alphys walked with Mr. Dreemurr.

“I must warn you, at least one of the medications she takes is a strong sedative. Assuming she is not asleep, Undyne will probably be very drowsy,” he said. “But I am sure she will be happy to have your company nonetheless.”

Upon entering, Mr. Dreemurr strolled past the receptionist, greeting her jovially and receiving a nod in reply. Alphys scurried after him, wanting to avoid questioning from any hospital staff. Everyone seemed to ignore them.

They entered the room to find Undyne on her back in the hospital bed, running her finger over her lips while humming in the way kids do to entertain themselves because it sounds funny.

“Howdy, Undyne!” Mr. Dreemurr greeted, startling Undyne, who scrambled into a lounging pose on her side. A good quarter of her face was bandaged up.

“‘Sssssssup?” she said, probably slower and less casual than she intended.

“I brought a friend,” he said and pat Alphys on the shoulder. She gave a meek wave.

“Alphys! You came!” Undyne sat up. Her smile brought a blush to Alphys’ cheeks.

“Y-y-yeah! Uh, M-Mr. Dreemurr said you, uh, wanted to see me?” Alphys took a seat in the chair beside the hospital bed and looked back to the principal in question, who waved her off as he stepped out of the room.

“Yeah... I’ve gotten so many people offering to visit but... honestly, you’re the only person I’ve really wanted to see,” she said, moving back into a reclining position. Her speech was slower than normal, and much quieter.

“R-really? N-not even Papyrus?” she asked.

“I love that goober, but... I don’t think I have the energy to handle him right now,” she said and ran her fingers through her ponytail. “I’m just really exhausted most of the time... Surgery SUUUUUCKS! If you can avoid getting your eye poked out… uuuuuuuh, I’d recommend it.”

“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind,” Alphys said.

They fell into silence. Undyne had her good eye closed and after a minute Alphys began to wonder if she fell asleep, until she opened her eye again and lifted up on her elbow.

“Alphys, come here,” Undyne said, even though Alphys was already seated next to her. “I need to tell you something important.” Alphys scooted her chair closer to the bed.

“Come closer…” Alphys leaned in. “Closer…” She could feel Undyne’s breath. She pounded her fist on the mattress. “CLOSER!!” They were cheek-to-cheek. Undyne slung her arm over Alphys’ shoulders and Alphys thought her heart might beat right out her chest. Undyne’s teeth brushed against her cheek. 

In what was probably meant to be a whisper, Undyne said, “...I forgot what I was going to say.” Alphys snorted, and Undyne tossed back her head in a laugh, and soon Alphys joined in. She laughed so hard no sound came out, which made Undyne laugh harder.

A nurse stepped into the room, and snapped his fingers to get their attention.

“I’m sorry Undyne, but I’m going to have to ask your friend to leave,” he said. Undyne groaned in disappointment and, probably, dread. 

“Well,” Undyne said, “Thanks for coming. It, uh, really means a lot to me.” 

“Th-thank  _ you _ ! For, uh, having me? I was really worried about you,” she said. Undyne smiled and pulled her into a hug.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’ll be fine. Take care of yourself, okay? Oh!! And don’t watch  _ Revolutionary Girl Utena  _ without me!!” 

“All meetings of the anime club have been postponed indefinitely,” Alphys assured her.

“Thanks,” she sighed with relief. “See ya neverrrrr!” She flashed Alphys a peace sign as she stepped out the door. 

In the hall Alphys found Asgore sitting with the child who ran past her the day of the accident; they really did look like Frisk, except a bit older, middle school age, with bigger eyes, paler skin, and rosy cheeks.

They mumbled something that sounded like, “I don’t wanna,” into their father’s ribcage. He patted their back and said, “It’s all right, dear,” in a quieter voice than Alphys was used to.

She decided not to interrupt and slipped out of the hospital without saying anything.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton makes fun of Alphys, and then things get emotional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely friends! Thank you again for your support of this goofy fanfic of ours~  
> As a warning this chapter contains some... vaguely implied past emotional abuse?   
> This chapter has been mostly written for a long time because we got ahead of ourselves and started writing it well in advance, WHOOPS. Hope it's worth the wait!

“Okay, it should be connected,” Alphys said and gave Mettaton’s boot a pat. “Could you try bending and unbending your legs?” He turned on the work table and did as asked, one leg at a time. 

“We did it!” he cheered and offered his hand in a high-five, which Alphys timidly met; the gloves on his hands would only cushion the metal so much.

“Yeah! Now, we can move toward working on walking and balance, and…” Alphys glanced up from her notes to see that Mettaton was now lying on his back with one leg up in the air. He winked as best he could with only half his face completed. 

“Alphys,” he sang. She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Don’t,” she said softly, narrowing her eyes at him. He blinked in rapid succession, which she guessed was him fluttering his eyelashes. 

“Hi, I’m Alphys, I have a crush on ALL my friends!” he exclaimed, raising the pitch in his voice but otherwise not putting much effort into the impression, which is how he differentiated teasing from actual acting.

“Mettaton… Why are you doing this now?” Alphys groaned.

“Oh, please notice me, Undyne-senpai!” he smacked the back of his hand to his forehead. 

“She’s not my s-senpai,” Alphys grumbled. “We’re in the same grade. Also we’re both upperclassmen.”

“Details, details,” Mettaton said in his normal voice. He turned onto his side and rested his chin on his fist. “I just think that you should know… You underestimate yourself. Undyne likes you more than you think she does.” His handsome grin almost sparkled with mischief.  

Alphys narrowed her eyes at him. “What did you do?” she asked. 

“What?”

“You’re up to something…”

“Whatever do you mean?” he asked innocently.

“I don’t trust you not to meddle in weird ways.”

“Alphys, please. This isn’t a movie. I assure you that I have done absolutely nothing weird,” he said and raised his hands defensively. He attempted to flutter his eyelashes again.

“Hmmm… You better,” she said and pointed a screwdriver in his face, not up to argue with his shenanigans. They still had a lot of work to do.

* * *

 

Alphys turned her phone on while she waited for the late bus after school. It vibrated as soon as it was on. 

Undyne: *come visit me

That was right, Undyne was discharged from the hospital that morning. She must have spent the day asleep, or maybe just bored out of her mind. Alphys texted back hastily.

Alphys: *ok, what’s your address?

The reply was immediate, as if she had it already typed out and waited for Alphys to answer. She looked up the address and saw it would be a bit of a walk, especially in the mid-February weather, but tore up her late bus pass anyhow and headed out.

Undyne’s neighborhood was a scenic little pocket of forest, full of trees and one-story houses with backyards significantly larger than the front yards. After checking the address three times, Alphys approached the house. The front door was open, but the entryway was covered by a glass screen door. She could see a semi-tidied living room from where she stood. Not wanting to scratch the glass with her scales, she rang the doorbell. 

Inside she could hear a chair scoot in what she guessed was the kitchen, and then Undyne came shuffling to the door. Her eye, naturally, was covered with an eyepatch. Not the kind like pirates wore in movies, but more like some kind of medical adhesive. She wore an oversized T-shirt and boxer shorts, and instead of her high ponytail her hair hung loose down her back. Alphys held back a gasp; she had never seen Undyne with her hair down before.

“Hey,” Undyne said, and the monotony in her voice broke Alphys’ heart. She took in her surroundings as she crossed the threshold. There were many pictures on the wall, but none of Undyne.

“You can sit wherever,” Undyne said and disappeared into the kitchen. “Do you want anything to drink?” She could hear the fridge open.

“I-I’m guessing you d-don’t have any soda…?” Alphys said as she settled into the sofa, setting her backpack on the floor beside it. 

“No, we do,” she said, and smacked a cup against the counter. “It’s, uh, not mine, but they won’t mind sharing…” She stepped out with a cup of soda Alphys guessed was probably store brand in one hand and a mug of tea she already had made in the other. She sat down beside her. On the end table she spotted a slice of pie.

“Is that from Toriel?” she asked. Undyne glanced at the pie behind her and smiled.

“Yeah, she came by with the kids at lunchtime. I wanted to save it for later. Asgore was there to greet me when I got discharged,” she curled up and rested her chin on her knees. “It was really nice.”

“I’m st-still amazed at how close you are with this whole family,” Alphys said and sipped at her drink. Yep. Definitely store brand.

“Yeah, me too,” Undyne laughed a little self-deprecatingly. “You know, I haven’t even known them all that long? But they’re the closest thing to a real family I’ve ever had.” She absently played with a small fin on her ankle. 

“Th-that’s, uh,” Alphys started but stopped at Undyne’s expression; she looked ready to cry.

“Remember… how I said that the Dreemurrs gave me a second chance?” Undyne glanced up at Alphys, who nodded. “I really mean that. I got myself into some serious trouble. I don’t really want to go into the details, but… Basically I was facing Juvie. Asgore took over my case, and he made me an offer. And he was just so patient, and kind, it just made me angrier and angrier, I tried to physically fight him until I just broke down crying.” She wore a bitter smile. For the first time since she burst into Alphys’ life, Undyne looked… small.

“He never got mad. He never reprimanded me. I’m so used,” she forcefully cleared her throat, “I’m so used to being yelled at for crying. I’ve lived with so many human foster families who seem to think monsters are supposed to be stronger than that.”

Alphys held out a hesitant hand, and Undyne clasped it in her own with a grateful smile. She rubbed her thumb over the softer part of Alphys’ palm. “Sorry for dumping all that on you.”

“N-no, it’s okay!!” Alphys said and put her other hand on top of Undyne’s. “I-I’m g-g-glad you feel safe t-telling me about it.”

“I trust you,” Undyne said, and the sparkle of sincerity in her eye made Alphys’ heart race.

“H-how are you, otherwise?” Alphys asked, trying to will the heat out of her face. “You seem so calm about all this.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. Since we’re friends and all,” Undyne clapped a hand on Alphys’ shoulder. “I’m only calm because I’m drugged out of my  _ MIND _ . Deep down inside... At the very core of my being... I am screaming constantly.”

“I--uh… I’m sorry,” Alphys said. Undyne waved dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. But, since I’m already being overly honest,” Undyne said and leaned up against Alphys’ side. “It's weird and disorienting and just… I’m… really scared? I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep doing the stuff I love, like riding my scooter or fencing. I keep feeling like I’m going to wake up and have both eyes again.” She scowled. “I hate feeling this way. I hate feeling so scared, so… weak.”

Alphys wrapped her arms around Undyne--an awkward embrace, given their positions--and rested her cheek against her hair.

“S-something I have to remind myself of a lot is that it’s okay to feel weak, sometimes,” she said. “You’ve b-been through a lot. It’s… I-it’s okay t-to feel afraid, a-and vulnerable.”

“Heh, Asgore tells me that, too,” Undyne said, and hugged her back. “On the bright side, I look badass with an eyepatch.”

“You do look  _ very _ cool,” Alphys said with a little laugh.

“They gave me a glass eye but I think I'm just gonna stick with the patch. I ordered a pirate-style one online,” she said, and her big, toothy grin was a relieving sight.

“Now everyone will know how rugged you are,” she offered and Undyne cackled.

“I would show you my new eye but I’m not supposed to take this thing off yet,” she said.

“Well, d-don’t compromise your health for me,” Alphys said.

“So, how’s that robot you’ve been building going?” Undyne asked, catching Alphys off-guard. 

“Oh! W-well, there are t-two, actually, and th-the first one is pretty much finished already. I worked on it almost nonstop over winter break. We’re just waiting until the science fair to unveil it,” Alphys said. “The second is c-close to being done, too! It’s a lot more complex and it’s coming along really nicely! Metta is getting really impatient, heh, he’s waffling between our original idea and forgoing the first design altogether and debuting with the second one. The problem, though, is that it runs out of battery a lot faster, so it's less practical.” She looked over at Undyne, who had her chin rested on her knees. Her smile was soft--if you could ignore the teeth that never quite fit into her mouth--and it gave Alphys butterflies.

“When is the science fair?” she asked.

“First week of March,” Alphys replied. “The second body we’re going to unveil at the end of the school year.” 

“That’s amazing,” Undyne said. “You’re amazing, Alphys. Never forget that.” Alphys blushed and took sudden interest in her own hands.

“W-well!!” Alphys changed the subject. “I--I have the next few  _ Utena _ episodes downloaded t-to my laptop, i-if you wanna watch some? I d-don’t think Mettaton or Napstablook would really care…”

“Hell. Freaking. YES!” Undyne said, grabbing Alphys by the shoulders. She was interrupted by an alarm blaring from her phone. “Ugh, hang on a second.” She got up and disappeared into the kitchen. She re-entered and downed two pills with a gulp of tea.

“Bleah,” she shuddered. “So, you were saying? Utena?” Alphys already pulled out her laptop and pulled up the episode. 

She tried not to sweat or tense up too much when Undyne snuggled up against her, resting her chin on her shoulder.

Halfway through the episode, the front door swung open, and a birdlike monster stepped in, calling out a greeting to Undyne. Alphys looked over to them, and then at Undyne, who, at some point, fell asleep. 

“Uh, uh, h-hi?” she said. The monster blinked.

“Oh. Hello. You must be Alphys, right?” they stepped forward and extended a wing. “I’m Fethry, Undyne’s foster parent.” Alphys shook it and fiddled with her glasses at the same time.

“Y-yeah! N-nice to meet you,” she said, and closed her laptop. “I, uh, don’t really, uh…”

“Undyne probably won’t be much for company for a while,” Fethry said. “Would you like a ride home?”

“O-oh, you d-don’t have to, uh,” she stuttered, but Fethry held out a wing.

“No, no, it’s too dark out for a girl your age to go wandering by yourself. Gather up your things, I’ll drop you off.” 

“Th-thanks,” she said, standing carefully so that Undyne could lie across the sofa without waking. 

“I’ll tell her you said goodbye,” Fethry said.

Nonetheless, as Fethry stepped out the door Alphys whispered, “Bye, Undyne,” and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before she could chicken out, and ran for the door.


End file.
